


How to Build a Den (Without Losing It)

by Sakuraiai



Series: Tangled [5]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Dean is Hopeless, Dean is a Sweetheart, Dens, Hospitals, Kids, M/M, Octopus Castiel (Supernatural), Protective Dean Winchester, Returning Home, Wolf Dean
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-04
Updated: 2018-03-04
Packaged: 2019-03-26 16:43:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,342
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13861728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sakuraiai/pseuds/Sakuraiai
Summary: With Cas and the cubs coming back from the hospital tonight, Dean should probably get finished on the octopus den he's been doing up for his mate.





	How to Build a Den (Without Losing It)

**Author's Note:**

> OMG! She's back~!  
> I told you I wouldn't leave this alone~!
> 
> It's just a cute little oneshot that came to me when I was waiting for my parabatai to come over~! Friggin' weather delaying and cancelling flights and shit...urgh.
> 
> Hope you like it~!

 

“I can’t do this, Sammy,”

Dean stared at the pile of fluffy pillows and soft cloths and cushions, holding his phone to his ear. He had spent the good part of a week going all over the town trying to find the softest, fluffiest, firmest, warmest, most comfortable bedding and items he could find. His precious Castiel was coming home from the hospital today. Along with his babies, _his little triplets_ , the amazing, beautiful and gorgeous boys and girl he had ever laid witness to. And they were coming home _tonight._

It had been a rush to the finish line with Cas and his labour; Dean had been half way through with this project. However, he hadn’t expected the exhaustion that came from all of the adrenaline finally wearing off into content.

His perfect little babies, with their thirty little fingers, thirty little toes, four soft ears and tails, and eight perfect little tentacles. Their eyes were so expressive, and they all had loud mouths, their cries were so adorable, though. _Oh,_ Dean couldn’t get enough of them. He just wanted them here, now, with him, where he could dote on all four of his beautiful loves, take care of them, and provide for them.

However, he needed to finish his project before they came home. Castiel was a recovering octopus shifter mother, and he needed a place shadowed away, calm and warm to care for his hatchlings, his cubs.

Dean had to build a den.

The book Garth had given him lay open on the picture of the den he had created for his wife and their kids, with some instructions on what to do and how to go about it. He understood the mechanics of it, but looking at the corner space he had chosen in the main den room was…well; it just didn’t look good enough. He had chosen cool colours that resembled the deep sea. But he had added a splash of pale pastels of purples and blues to meld with Castiel’s tentacles, and little bits of greens and browns to show off his own flair.

It looked like someone threw up a pile of pillows.

He couldn’t do it.

“Yes you can,” his brothers voice was solid and reassuring, and for a moment Dean was back to when they were kids and Sammy saw him as the superhero big brother he was.

He didn’t _feel_ like a superhero right now.

“I’ve tried,” he confessed falling back on the large plush beanbag cushion that was supposed to make the base of the den itself. “Like a hundred times, and it never looks good enough,”

He looked around the room, maybe the placement was wrong? Maybe the _room_ was wrong? Should he move the den to the lounge, or in the baby room itself? Would they prefer to be closer to the pool or further away? Maybe he needed more pillows, or maybe he should go with a darker coloured cloth to cover the top of the den. Octopus shifters preferred the dark, but then again, his little Emma was a little bit different, she liked the small shining night light in the hospital bed she slept in last night. Maybe he could put glow in the dark star stickers on the ceiling, or string some lights on the curtains to mimic the lights? Yes, they had something from last Christmas; he could definitely do something like that. Hmm…maybe if he made the top of the den more like a drapery, than a solid flat surface, or maybe netting would be better?

 _Oh god,_ what if they hated it? What if Cas took one look at it and hated it, what if the babies didn’t want anything to do with it? What if they didn’t want anything to do with _him?_

His eyes widened in shock at that thought. “They’re going to take one look at me and hate me,”

“Dean. Breathe,” Sam’s calm voice was a solace to his thoughts. “Your kids love you, Cas loves you. You can do this, you’re the alpha. You can provide for your mate and your pups.”

Dean nodded, catching his quickening breath. He could do this. Yes, _yes_ , he could do this. Who knew Cas better than him? Who knew just what his babies would need better than him and Cas? He had researched this; he had spoken countless of times with Garth and Bess. He had done his homework, now was the test.

_Please don’t let me fail this._

“Now go make me proud and build the den!” Sam’s voice was cheerful, and Dean suddenly adorned his superhero cape.

“You’re right,” he said, sitting up a little straighter now. “I can do this,”

“Who’s the man?” Sam followed.

Dean shook his head, running his hand through his hair. “No Sam, don’t do that,”

“Who’s the man, Dean?”

His brother was a dork. “I’m the man,”

“Damn right you are.” Sam replied, sounding so sure of his brother achieving this task, as he cheered him on. “Now go provide.”

Dean nodded. He could do this.

 

He couldn’t do this.

Tangled in the string of lights, he tried to peel them off his hair, and his arms, as he tied a part of the plastic wires on one corner of the midnight blue princess net he had hung above the corner of pillows and plush. He had added a soft and sheer cloth around the netting, to keep the area as dark as possible, without shrouding it in entire darkness. But, his socked feet kept sinking into the cushions, making him almost lose his balance ten times over, and his tail had snagged in the bulbs on the netting one too many times. They were a little pointed in the top corners, but the lights were covered in a strong material, one that didn’t heat up of melt, he made sure of that. There would be no fire hazards, not in his house. And, especially not in the one place where his mate and his babies would feel the safest.

He had an hour until visiting hours, and he could pick up his mate and his babies. He needed to get this completed now!

With a growl, his ears perked forward in anger, he tiptoed up and strung the last round from around his hair and onto the last corner of the overhang netting. But he lost his footing and fell back onto the carpet with a loud thud.

Groaning at the pain, he lay there for a few moments, letting the aches ebb away in their own time. God, he was getting old. Shaking the rest of the remaining pain away, he sat up, rubbing his back, and looked up.

Well, at least the canopy overhang looked good. It mimicked the night sky, and the ink of his mate. When the lights turned on, they would mimic the night sky itself. His eyes drifted down to the plush pillows and saw how disarrayed they were. With a confident nod, he let out a long breath, forcing the pain back and returned back to work.

His family would be back home, where they belonged, in half an hour. He needed to get this done, get ready and get to them.

 

Settling into Baby, he turned the ignition and made his way out of his property, through the copse of trees that made the border of their reserve home and down the long streets to the hospital. He drove as fast as the state law allowed him, but he wanted to get there already.

He was running late.

Cas was waiting for him.

John, James and Emma were waiting for him.

Looking back, he smirked at the three baby car seats he had installed before; he had made sure to check they were solid and safe before he even sat in the car. The babies’ safety was first in his mind; the babies would _always_ be first.

Maybe he should get a new car? One that would be safer…his stomach turned at the thought. He just couldn’t part with his first baby, she was his one and only before Cas came along, and then his little ones. But he would give her up in a heartbeat if it meant that Cas and his pups were safe. No matter how much he didn’t want to.

But right now, there was more than enough space in the seats for all three baby seats, and if he could get more safety precautions in the car, then maybe he won’t need to change anything about his first Baby.

Moments later, he found himself bursting through the hospital doors, saying a quick hello to the nurse – who knew him and his little family by now, what with the way they were always coming and going – and made his way to the room where his family were. The lights were dim here, as they should have been. Dean let himself bask in the heavy thudding of four amazing hearts beating – one still a little weak, his poor Emma, but she was going to get better, she was going to get stronger.

They little cubs were sleeping. He peered around the curtain, not wanting to startle his mate as he fed John. Nestled in his arms, swathed in a pale blanket – given by his mother no doubt – little John was happily suckling away, safe in his fathers’ arms. Emma had her tentacles wrapped around James’ tail. She had a thing for the boys’ tails, she loved to wrap her tentacles around them, feeling the fur, and it was absolutely adorable.

They were safe in their fathers own tentacles, nestled and warm. Castiel looked up, his beautiful blue eyes bright, yet still tired.

“Hello Dean,” he murmured quietly, not wanting to wake the little ones.

Dean made his way over to his family, pressing a kiss to each of their foreheads, taking in their individual scents, basking in their loveliness. This was his life, and he was so happy with whatever he must have done in his past life to deserve his mate, and his beautiful children.

God, he’d do anything, _absolutely anything_ for them.

He settled into the chair next to the bed – the place that had aptly been called ‘his place’ ever since they had been here – and reached to touch his little girl as she slept soundly.

“How’s she doing?” he asked, knowing the reason the four were here was because little Emma was a beautiful little rare-breed, a male octopus shifter giving birth to a baby octopus shifter. They needed to make sure she was healthy, that her little tentacles were responsive, that her ink was healthy.

His poor little one already had so many tests done on her, and he just wanted her home.

And today would be the day.

“You’re late, Dean,” Castiel answered, his voice low and growly, however a tentacle reached out and wrapped around Dean’s arm, holding him close.

“Sorry,” Dean replied sheepishly, smiling when he felt Castiel’s suckers kiss his skin. “I had to finish my awesome surprise for you and the cubs,”

“This wouldn’t be the same surprise you’ve been spending more than a week on?” Dean nodded, and Castiel let out a breath. “I can’t wait to see it,”

Moments later, their nurse came into the room. And after following the procedures, doing a few final check-ups and Dean checking one more time that the car seats were safe, they had strapped their precious babies into his first Baby, and when Castiel was safe in his seat, they made their way back to their home.

 

“Oh my,” Castiel’s eyes widened in surprise when he saw the beautiful octopus den Dean had made for him. The cushions and pillows looked and felt so soft; he dragged a tentacle over the plush and let out a sigh.

“Do you like it?” Dean asked, juggling John and Emma in his arms. He saw the serene look in Castiel’s eyes, and knew he had done the right thing.

Castiel was eager to sit inside, so he did. Taking a tighter hold of little James in his arms, he pulled back the pretty netting and sheer cloth and gasped as he sat inside. Getting comfortable, he reached a few tentacles out, making grabbing motions with them. Dean chuckled, passing John into his awaiting embrace.

Castiel moved over, giving Dean a little space to sit with him. He laid back onto the soft plush and the pillows, holding his two boys in his arms. Dean laid down next to him, arms wrapped carefully and securely around his little girl, loving the feeling of those little tentacles finding safety and solace wrapped around his arm.

“This is beautiful, Dean,” Castiel murmured, looking up into the beautiful dim net above them, taking in the comfort and safety he felt with his entire family around him, in their home, in their den.

“Wait, I’ve got something,” Dean suddenly said, reached for the opening. Careful of Emma, he flicked on the switch and suddenly the dim den was filled with brilliant lights, all sparkling minutely, looking like thousands of stars in the night sky.

Castiel gasped, unable to tear his gaze away from the beauty of it. Tears sprung to the corners of his eyes as he watched his mate, his love, his husband, the father of their children, settle down next to him, wrapping his arm around Castiel and holding all four of his family close.

He pressed a kiss to Castiel’s head, looking up at his creation. “What do you think?”

Castiel looked up at him, unable to really speak. “It’s beautiful,” he choked out, wrapping his tentacles around his family. They lay there for what seemed like hours, until their little ones got a bit cranky, wanting to be fed.

“I love you,” Castiel murmured, watching as Dean got up, helping Emma with her bottle.

Dean smiled softly, taking in his perfect little family. “I love you too,”

He couldn’t want anything more.

**Author's Note:**

> I'll write more as I go along, so don't expect a lot, and don't expect them to be chronological either, I'll do my best~!


End file.
